The Pewamo-Westphalia boys basketball team showed little sign of rust in their first game since Dec. 21, as the Pirates earned a 73-23 win Wednesday night over Saranac.

"We shot the ball well from the perimeter tonight, and that's good to see," Pirate coach Luke Pohl said. "We have been getting better since starting slow from there earlier this season.

"The big thing throughout the season is that you have to play every opponent. The guys have put emphasis on that and they just keep working hard."

The Pirates scored on the break off the opening tip and took control early as they outscored the Redskins 20-3 in the first quarter. The Pirates kept the Redskins off the scoreboard for 3:58 of the second quarter and built a 46-13 advantage at the break.

The Pirates added to their advantage in the third, outscoring Saranac 18-5. Heading into the fourth, P-W held a 64-17 lead.

Redskin coach Carmen Brown said P-W's pressure defense set the tone early on and created problems for her young ball handlers.

"We knew going in that they would put pressure on us like no other team we have played this year," she said. "Their defense left us with no offense and just created turnover after turnover."

Nick Spitzley paced the Pirates with 24 points. He also finished with four 3-point baskets and seven assists.

Lane Simon finished with 12 points for P-W.

Saranac was led by Branden Smith, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Drew Young chipped in with five points and Khiler Sage nabbed four steals.

P-W (6-1, 4-0 in CMAC) will play host to Laingsburg on Friday night in a battle of Central Michigan Athletic Conference powers.

Saranac (1-6, 1-3 in CMAC) will be back home Friday when the Redskins take on Portland St. Patrick.